The Big Companies Paying the Most in Taxes -- and the Least
The federal corporate tax rate is 35% but that's not what most big companies pay, and the disparities can be huge: Some pay billions, while others pay nothing.
The federal corporate tax rate is 35% but that's not what most big companies pay, and the disparities can be huge: Some pay billions, while others pay nothing.
General Motors on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit that exceeded analyst expectations by a wide margin. GM's profit was less than it turned in a year ago, with earnings hurt by ongoing losses in Europe. But elsewhere, its business is showing strong signs for the future.
In its second quarter, General Motors beat analysts' estimates with a profit of $1.5 billion, as losses in its troubled European division were less than many experts had predicted. That wasn't necessarily good news, though.
Ford earned $1.4 billion in the first quarter -- a bit ahead of analyst expectations, but down from a year earlier. North American sales powered the profit, while Europe's crisis-wracked economy held every automaker back on the Continent.
2011 was the most profitable year in General Motors' history. Thanks in large part to the $50 billion government-assisted restructuring it received, GM's U.S. operation is in good shape. So is it ready to fully pay back Washington now? Well, that depends on Europe.
Europe's floundering economy could hurt car sales at Ford and other automakers, worries Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor.










